(CNS): Junior Achievement of the Cayman Islands launched its Job Shadowing Programme earlier this month with Dart Cayman Islands as the pilot private sector organization. The Job Shadow Programme is an international Junior Achievement programme, praised for its success in motivating students to focus on their studies. Job Shadowing allows participating students to experience a ‘day at work’ and highlights the day-to-day connections between academic studies and careers. It exposes students to different careers by placing them in a workplace environment and pairing them with a mentor in that organisation for the day. “We were pleased to be invited to pilot this new Junior Achievement initiative locally,” said Glenda McTaggart, Learning and Development Manager at Dart.

She added, “The students were exposed to the wide range of career opportunities available within the Dart Group of Companies, and gained an understanding of how their classroom learning transitions to the workplace. We hope this experience has highlighted the importance of doing well in school and transferring that success to the workplace.”

The Job Shadow Programme targets students who are in year 11, a pivotal point in determining their career path. By having direct access to mentors who are employed in their chosen areas of study, participants were able to discuss career path options for the profession they were considering. Participants also saw firsthand how work readiness skills such as communication and teamwork are used every day in the workplace.

Mark VanDevelde, Chief Executive Offer at Dart, shared his personal career journey and facilitated a question and answer session with the students, who were then teamed up with their Dart mentors. Mentoring teams included: Information Technology, Building Operations, Construction, Customer Service and Horticulture.

Students also participated in a group lunch and discussion led by Jackie Doak, Chief Operating Officer at Dart, who highlighted the importance of having a good educational foundation, relating this to her own personal experiences.

At the end of the Job Shadow experience, students expressed their excitement and enthusiasm for the entire experience with words such as “awesome”, “really cool experience” and “not ready for it to end!”

Teresa Owen-Foster, Programme Director of Junior Achievement commented, “We are pleased with the outcome of the Job Showing Programme at Dart and feedback from the students has been encouraging. The Job Shadow experience gave them some real, practical insights into their career selection and development. We want to thank Dart for its continued support of Junior Achievement in the Cayman Islands and we look forward to having other companies participate in the Job Shadowing Programme.”

Dart Cayman Islands encompasses a number of businesses that operate in Grand Cayman and is also the developer of the Town of Camana Bay.